Planning for the Future

Western Pennsylvania Conservancy members understand the long-term nature of our work. The need to protect our region’s natural resources well into the future is one reason many of our members stay committed to the Conservancy for so long.
Incorporating effective long-term strategies into your financial planning can help you ensure a sound future for your family and other loved ones. One such strategy is to create a charitable remainder trust. Assets, such as cash, appreciated securities and real estate, can be placed in a trust and managed according to your instructions. When the trust ends, usually at the end of one’s lifetime, the assets are managed or distributed as the trust directs.

Here’s how an irrevocable trust can be used to satisfy both personal financial planning goals and benefit the work of Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.

In creating a charitable remainder trust for Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, you contribute property to an irrevocable trust, reserving an annual distribution from the trust for you and/or other beneficiaries.

You receive an immediate charitable income tax deduction for the present value of the gift to charity. The value of the deduction is less than the full fair market value of the property because the charity must wait until the end of the trust’s term to receive the benefits.

In addition, the trust may provide substantial estate tax savings and, in instances when highly appreciated assets are used to fund the trust, no capital gains tax will be triggered upon the transfer of assets to the trust.

At the end of the trust’s term, assets remaining in the trust pass to WPC and ensure a very special legacy to sustain the Conservancy’s work.

For more information on charitable remainder trusts or other gift planning methods, contact Susan Neszpaul at 412-288-2368 or sneszpaul@paconserve.org.

Go to the next article, WPC Elects New Board Members.